My hotel is full of emperors throughout history.

While Chen Mo and others were discussing prices, at the same time, in a banner of Ulanqab City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, a national highway expansion construction site was underway.

Old Li, the contractor, had a cigarette dangling from his lips as he squinted at the excavator's bucket.

The sun was scorching that day, making the pebbles on the Gobi Desert reflect a white light.

The construction site is currently excavating the foundation for widening National Highway G208, and has already reached a point about two meters below the design elevation.

"Move a little to the left! Dig down another fifty centimeters! Be careful, don't touch the pipes!"

Old Li shouted into the walkie-talkie.

The huge excavator roared as its steel bucket plunged once again into the yellowish-brown soil.

Driver Xiao Zhang operated the robotic arm, preparing to throw the bucket of soil onto the transport vehicle next to him.

Sudden--

"clang!!!"

A dull, metallic clang erupted from where the bucket made contact with the ground.

The entire excavator shook violently, and Xiao Zhang in the cab was so shaken that he almost jumped out of his seat.

"Holy crap! What the hell?!"

Xiao Zhang was startled and quickly released the control stick. The walkie-talkie immediately erupted in chaos.

Old Li was startled, and the cigarette butt fell to the ground.

He rushed to the edge of the excavation pit, taking three steps at a time, and peered down while clinging to the edge.

Beneath the excavator's bucket, at the cross-section of the soil where a deep trench had been scraped open, a dark, shadowy object was revealed.

The surface of that thing was flat, the edges were straight, and it was covered in mud, but it definitely did not belong to a natural rock formation.

At this moment, it reflects a faint metallic sheen in the sunlight.

The bucket just slammed hard against the edge of this thing, leaving a conspicuous white mark.

"Stop! Stop everything!"

Old Li's heart was pounding. Based on his more than 20 years of experience on construction sites, he knew this was no ordinary thing.

He waved to stop all the machinery as he carefully slid down the slope to the bottom of the pit.

The earthy smell at the bottom of the pit seemed to be mixed with a very faint, indescribable stale metallic odor.

Old Li squatted down and used his hands to scrape away the loose soil around the exposed object.

As the soil was brushed away, more of the object was revealed—a huge, incredibly thick, curved metal plate.

The surface appears to have some kind of dark coating, and although it is mottled and peeling, it is still clear that it is not cast iron.

What made his scalp tingle even more was that he saw rivets.

Rows of massive, heavily rusted but neatly arranged rivets, each the size of a bowl, connect this curved plate to the deeper structure.

This is definitely not a remnant of modern engineering.

Old Li's heart skipped a beat.

He had worked on many projects on this grassland, but he had never seen metal components of this craftsmanship and size.

"Boss Li, what... what is this? It's not some kind of antique, is it?"

Several workers also gathered around, watching with a mixture of curiosity and nervousness.

Old Li didn't answer; he continued cleaning along the curved plate.

More details have been revealed.

A frighteningly thick, rusted reddish-brown metal connecting rod; a huge, ring-shaped object more than a meter in diameter, half-embedded in the ground; a twisted and deformed, but clearly once perfectly organized, mesh-like metal grille…

"Phone your phone! Quick, take a picture!"

Old Li's voice trembled slightly.

He had a vague feeling that he might have unearthed something extraordinary.

Worker Xiao Zhao quickly took out his phone and snapped photos of the scene in the pit, and also recorded a video.

Then, Lao Li picked up his phone and began reporting to his superiors.

Xiao Zhao then posted the video to a gossip group.

At first, the group chat was just filled with curiosity and banter.

"Is it waste material that was buried by the factory before?"

Doesn't it look like an oil tank?

"Could it be the wreckage of an alien spaceship? Haha!"

However, things changed not long afterward.

There happened to be an archaeology student in the group who saw this and suddenly jumped up from his chair.

"This design...this riveting technique...this level of oxidation, buried in the original soil layer?!"

He watched the video repeatedly, especially the rivets with obvious hand-forged marks and the peculiar curved armor plates.

An extremely absurd yet heart-pounding thought surfaced in his mind.

He immediately dialed his advisor's number.

His mentor was at Zhaoling at the time investigating Tang Dynasty rebar, hoping to find other materials such as Tang Dynasty blast furnaces.

After receiving his call, I simultaneously opened the video he had sent me.

A few minutes later,

"Don't be so hasty!!! Tell me the hell where this was found!"

This was the first time he had ever seen his mentor so emotional, even swearing.

Wait, that's not right!

The last time I saw rebar, it exploded.

This is the second time!

At the same time, the videos he posted began to spread and gain traction online, being seen by all sorts of people.

It started as a joke, but after some knowledgeable people explained it, it suddenly became much more popular.

"The structural strength design of this curved plate, and the way the connecting rods are constructed... are very old, yet... they possess a functionality that transcends their time?"

"Buried at least several meters below the original layer, this oxide layer and attached soil stains indicate it's definitely quite old! What's going on here?"

Related topics, such as the discovery of the skeleton of a mysterious giant beast at a construction site in Inner Mongolia and the mystery of steel beneath the Gobi Desert, have begun to quietly climb to the bottom of Weibo's trending topics list.

The turning point occurred around 4 p.m. that day.

After receiving the report, the local cultural relics bureau dispatched two staff members to the scene to conduct a preliminary investigation.

One of the young technicians, Xiao Wang, after cleaning out a small, relatively flat piece of metal surface, carefully shone a flashlight on it and suddenly let out a scream, "Ah!"

"Words! There are words! Words are engraved on it!"

Xiao Wang's voice cracked.

Under the sidelight of a powerful flashlight, the uneven scratches on the carefully cleaned metal plate were faintly visible.

After extremely careful identification and photographic enhancement, several ancient seal script characters have painstakingly emerged from rust and soil, revealing their incredible outlines.

"Han Dynasty, Yuan Shou Tianche, according to records"

The character "Han" was barely legible, and the reign title "Yuanshou" made Xiao Wang's hands start to tremble.

The words "ju zhi" (据志), especially the word "ju" (据), exploded in his mind like a thunderclap!

Liu Ju!

Liu Ju, the crown prince of Emperor Wu of Han!

Is this something left behind by that rebellious crown prince Liu Ju?

Wait a moment?

Did Liu Ju also launch a northern expedition?

Is it still running?

Xiao Wang quickly took a picture with his phone, sent it back to the company's work group, and added a comment.

"Urgent! Potential major discovery! The inscription involves Liu Ju, the crown prince of Emperor Wu of Han! The metal object is enormous, buried extremely deep, and exhibits contradictory characteristics of the era! Requesting immediate assistance!"

The work group chat exploded instantly.

The news spread at the speed of light within the archaeological and cultural heritage system, and the video that Xiao Zhao posted online also went viral.

#Han Yuan Hunting Chariot#

#Liu Ju's inscription appears in Inner Mongolia#

#A Steel Behemoth That Traveled Through Time#

The three topics exploded in speed, suddenly appearing at the top of the trending search lists on major platforms around 6 p.m., the peak time for online traffic.

The number of views instantly exceeded 100 million and is growing at a rate of millions per hour!

"My God! Is this the Yuan Shou I know? Emperor Wu of Han?"

"Liu Ju? The Crown Prince Liu Ju from the witchcraft scandal? The words he carved? On what did he carve them?"

"Wait, the point isn't the engraving! The point is, what's it engraved on?"

"P-printed? That's outrageous! Could Han Dynasty steel technology have produced such large and complex metal components? And buried underground?"

"But that thing in the photo is metal! A huge metal structure!"

"What the hell would the Han Dynasty have produced such a giant metal artifact? And a chariot at that?"

"Hey buddy up, think back to the threaded steel bars from the Tang Dynasty..."

"It's in Ulanqab, and it's true! Our social media feeds are flooded with it! The construction site is cordoned off, and lots of cars have arrived!"

"The official account of the Archaeological Bureau just reposted the relevant report. They didn't deny it, only saying they've launched an investigation and urging people not to spread false information… That's quite an attitude!"

"Look at those rivets in the video! Those connecting rods! They're definitely not modern, but they don't resemble any known ancient artifacts either! It's terrifying to think about!"

"Damn it! If that's true, then all of history will probably have to be overturned and rewritten!"

"Could it be... that we once ruled the entire world?"

"Hey, if the Han Dynasty had something like this, it's quite possible!"

The entire internet was abuzz.

History buffs, military enthusiasts, science fiction fans, archaeologists, metallurgists, and even ordinary bystanders.

All eyes were now focused on that previously inconspicuous construction site in Inner Mongolia.

Various speculations, analyses, doubts, and even wildly imaginative theories such as "ancient people traveling to the modern era," "modern people traveling to ancient times," "alien civilizations," and "prehistoric high technology" are flying around.

Mainstream media outlets urgently dispatched reporters to the scene, and various independent media outlets also sprang into action.

Soon, a major state-owned television news channel devoted five minutes to reporting on the matter.

"Today, at a road construction site in Ulanqab City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, an unidentified large metal structure buried underground was discovered. Preliminary investigations indicate that it is of considerable historical age, and inscriptions that may be related to the Han Dynasty were found."

"Currently, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences have jointly formed a top-level expert working group, which has rushed to the site. The specific nature, age, and purpose of the discovery all await further scientific archaeological excavation and research for confirmation. This station will continue to follow this story."

This caused an uproar across the country.

It caused a national sensation and attracted worldwide attention.